Elevator-car inclosure



June18,.1929.

C. T. WEISTLIN ELEVATOR CAR INCLOSURE Filed June 2l, 1927i INVENTOPATTPHEY Patented June 18, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

i CARL T. WESTLIN, OF WESTFELD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGfNOIR1 T0 OTIS ELEVAIORCOM- PANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION 0F NEW JERSEY.

ELEVATOR-CAB INCLOSURE.

Application led June 21,

This invention'relates to elevator car inclosures and particularly toelevator car inelosures forl freight elevators.

One feature of the invention is to provide an inclosure of the abovetype that is of rigid construction and which requires a minimum oflmaterial. Anotherfeature of the invention lies in the provision of a carinclosure of the above type that is made up of standard parts producedon a quantity basis.

Still another feature of the invention is to provide a car inclosurethat is readily constructed and installed and which is pleasing inappearance.

Other features and advantages will become apparent from thespecification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawingswherein one embodiment of the invention is illustrated.

In the drawings- Figure 1 is a view in front elevation of an elevatorcar inclosure;

Figure 2 is a view with parts Broken aw'ay taken along line 2-2 ofFigure 1;

' Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of Figure 3.

Referring to the drawings, the inclosure is designated als a whole bythe numeral 10. For convenience of description, the inclosure isillustrated as made up ofthree sides,- namely, the left side 11, rightside 12 and rear side 13. According to the preferred arrangement, eachside is made up of two vertically extending end panels 14 and one ormore vertically extending intermediate panels 15, two intermediatepanels being shown. The outer vertical edges of both end panels 14 arejoined, as by welding, to vertically extending angle bars 16. The innervertical edge of each end panel 14 and both vert-ical edges of eachintermediate panel 15 are bent in such man ner as to have a'portion 17in a plane at r1ght angles to the panel and another portion 18 1n aplane parallel to and overlapping the panel (see Figure 4), thusproducing the same effect as if these .edges of the panels werereinforced with small vertically extending channels. This type of doublebend is utilized in connecting adjoining panels.

In assembhng one of the sides of the inclo- 1927. Serial No. 200,367.

sure, the panels making up this side are grouped side by side with theportions 17 of adjacent panels in abutting relation. The

anels are then joined by locking strips 20. hese strips are of acrosssection as shown 1n Figure 4 and are formed by folding over the edges ofan elongated flat sheet metal strip upon itself. These locking strips.are slid lengthwise over the portions 18 of the adjacent panels, thestrips being formed so as to grip the portions 18 when' the parts are inassembled relation. These strips extend the full length of the panels`as shown in Figure 2. With the locking strips in place, the panels arejoined at the bottom by an angle bar 22 and at the top by an angle bar23, these angle bars being secured to the panels as by welding. Thehorizontal leg 24 of the bottom angle bar 22 extends inwardly of the carwhile the horizontal leg 25 of the upper angle bar 23 extends out#wardly of the car. Withl the panels thus connected, a strong and rigidside of the inclosure is obtained. The corner angle bars 16 of the sideof the inclosure are secured to the end panels in such manner as toprovide right and left angles.

With all three sides made up, they are grouped together, as shown inFigure 3, and joined as by bolts 19 extending through the abutting legsof adjoining right and left angle bars 16. The inclosure is secured tothe car platform 26 as by screws 27 extending through the horizontallegs 24 of the bottom angle bars 22. A hole or pocket may be providedin'one of the panels to receive a flush type car switch, such a hole,designated 28, being illustrated as formed in the forward end panel 14of the right side 12 of the inclosure (see Figure 2).

It is preferred to make the intermediate panels of two different widths.Also, it is preferred to make certain of the end panels wide enoughsothat they may be cut to any requiredV width with the remaining endpanels of a standard width. With th'ese panels, an inclosure having itssides of any desired widths may be made. It is also pre--l ferred tomake all the panels of the same height. Thus, standard panels may bekept in stock and inclosures of any desired size may be assembled fromthem on short notice. Furthermore, with all panels the same height andwith their widths standardized,

the number of different panels to be kept in stock is minimized andthese parts may be produced on a quantity basis.

It is preferred that the height of the panels be six feet or slightlyabove, thus satisfying the requirements of practically all statutes. Thevertical corner angle bars 16, however, are extended in height beyondthe panels: except under certain conditions which will be explainedlater. The top portion 30 of both corner angle bars 16 for the right andleft sides of the inclosure is bent over as shown in Figure 2. Thesevertical angle bars are joined by horizontal angle bars 31 connectedthereto, as by bolts extending through the bent over portions 30.

The inclosure may or may not be provided with a top, depending upon therequirements of' the particular installation. Where no top is provided,the inclosure may be braced above the panels as by tie rods extendingfrom the horizontal angle bars 31 to the crosshead of the car framework(not shown). The tops, when specified, may be made up of a plurality ofperforated sheet steel panels 32 secured, as by welding, to cross anglebars 33. These cross bars are in turn secured to the horizontal anglebars 31, as by bolts 34 and clips 35. The front top panel may be setback from the opening a certain distance, as shown in Figure 2, wherebuilding regulations require it. Where sheaves are mounted on thecrosshead Aof the car framework, it is preferred to provide a solid topcenter panel with bent up sides to form a pan to protect the car fromoil and grease that may drop from the crosshead sheaves and boxes.

If it is desired to have the car inclosed to a greater height than thatprovided by the solid panels 12 and 14, additional side panels 36 may beprovided. Ih'esej panels may be of perforated sheet steel secured, as bywelding, to horizontal angle bars 37. At-

their ends, these panels may be secured, as by bolts, to the cornerangle bars 16. The lower angle bars 37 may bejoined to the top anglebars 23 of the solid panel sides,l as by bolts. Also, the top angle bars37 of the right and left side additional anels maybe secured, as bybolts, to 'tile angle bars 31. Where a top is provided, the top anglebar 37 of the rear side additionalA panel may be secured, as by bolts,to the back cross angle bar 33.

In case of a small inclosure with no additional side panels or top, itis found that the inclosure may be braced sufficiently by connecting thetop angle bars 23 of the right and left sldes to the sides of the carframework without extending the corner angle bars 16 the additionalheight. It is preferred to provide this connection for all arrangementsof the inclosure and also to eonnectangle bars 31 to the lsides of thecar framework where the corner angle bars are extended.

It will be seen that, with the above arrangement, the rear side 13 maybe easily removed at any time without requiring any changes to be madein the sides 11 and 12. Furthermore, the inclosure may be made up in thefirst instance of only two sides, or even only one side, if such be therequirements of the particular installation. The inclosure may be packedfor shipping with the panels separated or with the sides assembled, asoccasion demands. Where the separate panels are shipped, the sides maybe assembled on `the job by means of bolts instead of Welding. It willbe seen that the panels are of very simple construction and thereforecan be easily made at a minimum cost. Furthermore, the sides may beassembled in a minimum of time by use of the locking strips 2() owing tothe fact that this method of assembling eliminates a large percentage ofthe welding formerly required. It is to be noted that the channel-likearrangement of the vertical edges of the adjoining panels makes a verystrong construction and together with the steel locking strips makes upa rigid steel inclosure with a minimum amount of material. f

As many changes could be made in the above construction and manyapparently Widely different embodiments of this. invention could be madewithout departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawingsshall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. An elevator car inclosure comprising; a pair of adjoining panels,each panel having its edge adjacent the other panel bent to form aportion in a plane at right angles to the panel and further bent to forma second portion overlappingthe panel and in a plane parallel to theplane of the panel; and a locking strip extending across the second portions and bent around their edges for securing said panels together withtheir first portions in abutting relation.

2. An elevator car inclosure comprising; a pair of adjoining verticalsheet metal panels arranged in a vertical plane, each panel having itsvertical edge adjacent the other panel bent outwardly into a plane atright angles to the panel to form a flange, each flange being bent atits outer edge into a plane parallel to its panel and overlapping thesame; an elongated vertical sheet metal locking? strip having itsvertical edges folded over upon itself and arranged to be slid" arrangedin -a vertical plane, each panel having its vertical edge adjacent theother panel bent outwardly into a plane at right angles to the panel toform a flange, each flange being bent at its outer edge into a planeparallel t0 its 'panel and overlapping the same; an elongated Verticalsheet metal locking strip having its vertical edges folded over uponitself and arranged to be slid lengthwise over the outer edges of theflanges and` to grip the same to secure the panels together with theirflanges in abutting relation; and a pair of horizontally extending anglebars, one secured to both panels at the bottom and the other securedtoboth panels at the top.

4. A side of an elevator car inclosure comprising; a plurality ofadjoining vertical sheet metal panels arranged in al vertical plane,each of said panels having its vertical edge adjacent another of saidpanels bent outwardly into a plane at right angles to the panel to forma flange, each flange being bent at its outer edge into a plane parallelto its panel and overlapping the same; elongated vertical sheet metallocking strips of a number one less than the number of panels, eachstrip having its vertical edges folded over upon itself and arranged tobe slid lengthwise -over the outer edges of the flanges of a pair ofadjoining panels, for securing said panels together with the flanges ofadjoining panels in abutting relation; a pair of horizontally extendingangle bars, one secured to all of said panels at the top and the othersecured to all of said panels at the bottom; and a pair of verticallyextending angle bars, one secured to the outer Vertical edge of an endone of said panels with its outer leg extending outwardly and the othersecured to the outer vertical edge of the other end one of said panelswith its outer. leg extending outwardly, providing right and left anglesat the outer edges of the inclosure side. v

5. An elevator| car inclosure having a plurallty of sldes arranged atrlght angles, each side comprising, a plurality of adjoining verticalsheet metal panels arranged in a vertical plane, each of said panelshaving its vertical edge adjacent another of said panels bent outwardlyinto a plane at right angles to the panel to form a flange, each flangebeing bent at its outer edge into a plane parallel to its panel andoverlapping the same, elongated vertical sheet metal locking strips of anumber one less than the number of panels, each strip having-itsvertical edges folded over upon itself and arranged to be slidlengthwise over the outer edges of the flanges of a pair of adjoiningpanels, for securing said panels together with the flanges of adjoiningpanels in abutting relation, a

pair of horizontally extending angle bars,

one secured to all of said panels at the top and the other secured toall of said panels at the bottom, and a pair of vertically extendingangle bars, one secured to the outer vertical edge of an end one of saidpanels with its outer` leg extending outwardly and the other secured tothe outer vertical edge of the other end one of said panels with itsouter leg extending outwardly, providing right and left angles at theouter edges of the in'- closure side; and means for securing adjacentsides together at the corners with theY outwardly extendingleg of avertical angle bar of one of said sides abutting the inner leg of avertical angle bar of the adjacent side.

In testimony whereof, l have signed my name to this specification.

CARL T. wEsTLIN.

